


Rocks Fell, Everyone Died (Not Exactly)

by Unfathomable101



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Death, Graphic Description of Corpses, Graphic Description of Injury, Heavy Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Other, Requited Love, Sad Ending, Shiro always gets left with the corpse, Tears, Then he dies, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 09:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13701282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfathomable101/pseuds/Unfathomable101
Summary: What happens when Lance gets caught in a dead Balmera with one of his teammates?Well, the answer isn't good things.There's a chapter for each Paladin (And maybe a few extras we'll see), with Lance being a constant in each.YES THERE IS DEATH. AND LOTS OF IT. Although Idk if it counts if it's the same person every time but hey, he dies in every chapter so. Yeah.I cried a little writing some of these.





	1. Pidge

**Author's Note:**

> This was probably a mistake 
> 
> These are either based off of roleplays (Keith and Pidge) or how I imagined them going. I only did the Lance (And others) parts of the roleplay chapters.
> 
> These are really sad man, read at your own risk.
> 
> This really shouldn't be my first work on here tbh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Pidge head into an unstable, dead Balmera, despite Pidge's warnings. The team learns a valuable lesson: listen to Pidge or it may cost you your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jumping right in with a sad one! Except they're all sad. As this is one of the ones inspired by a roleplay, the writing style for the parts of Pidge will be a bit different than mine. 
> 
> Warning: LOTS OF BLOOD. This one definitely has more than most, so be careful. Also my injury descriptions are really graphic. So if you want to graze over them, I don't mind. And there's also really casual descriptions of said graphic injuries.
> 
> (If you feel like Pidge's reactions and opinions and stuff kinda change throughout this, you're not alone.)

Lance forced his eyes open with a groan. He felt like everything was covered in cotton and grit. His mind was hazy as he tried to figure out what had happened. Then, the memories came flooding back. He and Pidge had been exploring an extinct Balmera, keeping constant contact with the team on the surface through a communication link. She had warned them about mild seismic activity before they went down, but Lance figured it would be fine. They had apparently been nearing the spot where the activity was bad, and they were about to turn back when everything collapsed. Lance felt something painful at the small of his back, but sensation ended there. However, he didn't think about that. His thoughts were focused on his teammate. "Pidge?" He called, before he had to cough. "Pidge? Where are you?" His voice grew stronger after he coughed, and desperation could be heard in his call.

Pidge knew the planet was unstable. She told Lance multiple times but guess the message didn't click. Obviously their mission wasn't going as planned when the seismic activity happened and made everything topple over on them. "Lance!" Pidge called out before getting crushed with him. After that, everything was a blur. She was conscious but everything ached badly, so bad she didn't dare to move a muscle. Hope was almost gone.. until she heard Lance. Oh man was she relieved to hear him! "L-Lance..." Pidge called out, weakly.

Lance sobbed slightly with relief at hearing her voice, activating his flashlight and bouncing the beam around to try and find her. "Pidge! Are you okay? Are you hu-" a coughing fit cut him off before he could finish, filling his mouth with the taste of blood. He spat, the red liquid splattering. That was bad, he thought to himself.

"Peachy.. Can't move a muscle without screaming in agonizing pain..." Pidge huffed small. "You tell me, am I really okay?" Even in a time like this, she would be sarcastic. If this was her truly last moment being alive, her last words would be her sarcasm.

Lance sighed, coughing up another clump of blood and spitting again. "C'mon, be optimistic for once. At least you're not suffocating on your own blood." Yeah, maybe pain Olympics wasn't the best game to play. But humor was hard to come by with a broken back and bleeding lungs.

"You should know me by now, I'm a pessimistic teenage girl who pilots a giant green lion and all her friends are teenage boys." Pidge stated before huffing small.

Lance laughed weakly and drily, before reaching out and hooking his fingers in a groove on the floor. "Fair enough. Keep talking to me, I'm on my way."

"Well I'm gonna say this- we had a good run." Pidge chuckled small but wincing small. "I'm sure nearly every bone in my body is destroyed by these stupid rocks."

Lance sighed, pulling himself forward. Or, trying. The rocks weighed him down, and one of his feet must have been caught. "Yeah. As far as ways to go, though, this sucks. I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory for the history books, man. Not choke to death in a cave in. Sorry you had to get sucked up in my karma." He tugged again, a loud popping noise resonating through the cavern. Yet he was still stuck. Another harsh pull, and a sickening tearing noise, and he was moving. Trying not to imagine what he'd lost.

"You think the other's are going to find us...?" Pidge asked quietly, sighing. "I'm sure Shiro is worried sick, we should've contacted him... I should've.." She glanced away and slowly clutched her hands tightly regardless of the amount of pain she is in. "I was the one who made us go on this mission... it's my fault we almost got killed.. and now we're stuck.."

Lance made a protesting sound, but it was weak and breathless and all he could manage for a moment after stopping. "Are you kidding? This whole thing is my fault. You said not to go. And now-" he was cut off again by a violent coughing fit, the sound distinctly wet as blood flew from his lips. He wheezed for a few minutes, then reached out and kept pulling himself. "This is... my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous. I was about to go alone but you volunteered to come.." Pidge felt guilty. She felt like if either of them did possibly die on this planet, it would still be her fault and she would still blame herself.

Lance slumped slightly, sighing. That was true. So if anything, it was the fault of both of them. But he'd still feel awful if anything happened to Pidge. He dragged himself further, feeling himself growing weaker by the minute.

"Don't get too weak.. Just call Shiro and the others. They'll find us..." Pidge sighed. She already gave up and just wanted the others to save them.

Lance huffed again. "I'll bleed out before they get here. And there's no way in hell I'm dying alone." He sent out a simple SOS, then began dragging himself closer.

Pidge turned her gaze over, noticing Lance. "Least you had relationships in the past. I never had anything... I didn't even my first boyfriend, first date.. first kiss... and I'm gonna die not experiencing that.."

Lance dragged himself another few feet before his strength gave out. He reached to Pidge, grip falling short a few inches. "Never... never had a first kiss. So we're a little even."

"Really?" Pidge slowly extended her hand, reaching out and grunting. "Who would've known? The flirt on the team never had their first kiss.. hehe.. that's the first."

Lance huffed softly, cushioning his head with one arm and curling his pointer finger around Pidge's with his other. "Yeah. I've been waiting for the person who will make the fireworks go off, you know? Of course, maybe I shouldn't have waited."

"Guess I shouldn't have been so negative and pessimistic, I wouldn't be in this mess." Pidge sighed. "But we can't change the past.."

Lance looked down, his breathing hoarse and shallow. "Here's where... I'd say something like... we can only change the future... but we don't have much left of that..." the droop of his eyelids was very telling of what was about to happen. Blackness swam before his eyes, his already weak grip on Pidge's finger going lax. But he still breathed, for now.

Pidge looked over. "Yea.. clearly.." She closed her eyes and turned away. "I just got Matt back.. and now I have to say goodbye to him... God, he'll be so devastated..."

Lance let his eyes close, too weak to even make a pained expression. He could imagine the looks on their faces when their team found the pair. It would be awful... He opened his eyes, wanting to face death head on. Like he would if he'd died heroically like planned. He stared at the back of Pidge's head, watching her helmet blur, and blur, and watching everything go dark. "See you on the other side..." He rasped, before his last breath escaped and the life bled from his eyes.

Pidge tensed and looked over. "Lance..?" She called out. She realized he wasn't answering and her eyes widened. "Lance..? You better not be joking..." She winced as she pulled herself closer to him. "God damn it.. Lance!" She weakly shook him, gripping onto his arm tightly. No, this had to be dream! This wasn't real! All she had to do was open her damn eyes and everything would be the same!

Lance stared, blankly, at nothing. His lips held the slightest curve of a smile, even with the smallest drop of blood collecting at the corner and spilling over. His features were ashen, bloodless, seeimg as most of the blood in him was spilled onto the rocks. He was perfectly still and perfectly silent, something he'd never been before.

Pidge felt tears swell up. "Lance..." She slowly reached up and wiped the blood away as her tears were rolling down her cheeks. "God... no...."

Not even moments later, footsteps and faint voices were heard. They got closer and closer, and the voices were soon detectable as that of the pair's teammates. They managed to find the cavern quickly, Keith arriving first with Matt on his heels.

"Pidge!" Matt cried, rushing to her side to check on her.

As she was about to sob and cry until she meets death, her team finally came. Pidge looked over to Matt and started to tear up even more. No one has ever seen her cry, only Matt has and it was a rare sight to see.. and a really sad one too. "M-Matt..."

Matt carefully removed the rocks from her and gathered her into his arms with the utmost gentleness. He held her close, rocking her gently, murmuring words of comfort. All while avoiding looking at the corpse.

Keith however, couldn't avoid it, and neither could Hunk and Shiro when they arrived.

Hunk couldn't do much more than stare in numb horror, and Keith moved to guide him and Matt out, leaving Shiro to take their dead teammate back. There would be time to mourn when they could do so without worrying about Pidge meeting the same fate. But that didn't prevent the haunted look in Keith's eyes.

Pidge gripped onto Matt tightly. She feared that she would leave everyone just like Lance did. "W-we have to save him.. T-there has to be a way..!" She hid her face in her brother's shoulder. "I-It's my fault Lance is.. dead.. He was only trying to save me.. but he made it just in time.."

Matt held her gently, shushing her softly. "It'll be okay, we'll... we'll figure it out. Just focus on yourself, okay? Let us handle the rest."

Pidge sighed and grew silent, only nodding. She felt like Lance's death was her own fault so his death was on her conscious for good. Only fifteen and already got someone killed.. Just peachy.

Matt shared a look with Hunk and Keith, a million words shared with a little bit of eye contact. They eventually made it out of the unstable caves, Hunk and Keith moving towards Hunk's Lion, Matt carrying Pidge to Allura's. 

Pidge didn't speak up at all, afraid she'd choke up again and become a sobbing mess again. All she could do is try to make herself relax but that was impossible since she just watched her teammate die literally only centimeters apart from her.

Allura piloted them back to the Castle, only speaking to tell Coran to prepare a healing pod for Pidge. Matt still held her carefully, wary of the broken bones she had all over.

Pidge had to admit, she was grateful that her team and Matt came to recuse them but they were also late, a little too late to be in fact. If only they gotten there earlier, none of this would've happened.

If only they'd gotten there earlier...


	2. Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically the same thing as the Pidge chapter but with Keith. You know some of those mildly confusing tags with relationships and love and stuff?
> 
> Well...
> 
> ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.
> 
> I'm really sorry.
> 
> This is one of the ones that made me cry a little.

Lance forced his eyes open with a groan. He felt like everything was covered in cotton and grit. His mind was hazy as he tried to figure out what had happened. Then, the memories came flooding back. He and Keith had been exploring an extinct Balmera, keeping constant contact with the team on the surface through a communication link. Pidge had warned them about mild seismic activity before they went down, but Lance figured it would be fine. They had apparently been nearing the spot where the activity was bad, and they were about to turn back when everything collapsed. Lance felt something painful at the small of his back, but sensation ended there. However, he didn't think about that. His thoughts were focused on his teammate. "Keith?" He called, before he had to cough. "Keith? Where are you?" His voice grew stronger after he coughed, and desperation could be heard in his call.

Keith groaned and fought with consciousness, fighting to focus on Lance's voice. His head was killing him, but he could still move around a little. "I'm here." He gasped out. "I'm here Lance." He blinked, trying to make out anything in the darkness. He thought he could see Lance's hand not far from him, and shifted, trying to get closer. "Are you okay?"

Lance sagged slightly with relief at hearing Keith's voice, triggering yet another coughing fit. This one sounded much weaker, and he was struggling for air for several long minutes afterward. "Probably not... I can't feel my legs..." He coughed again, tasting iron, and winced. "Definitely not. What about you?" Worst case scenario for Lance: he died. Plain and simple. But maybe Keith had a chance.

"You can't feel your-? Oh fuck..." Keith growled, feeling despair sink low in his gut. No, he couldn't focus on that right now. He needed to focus on getting them out and making sure Lance was okay. Because he was /going/ to be okay. "I-I'm fine Lance. My head hurts some, but I'll be fine." In all honesty, he could feel blood trickling down his face and he knew his helmet was cracked and that his wrist was twisted at an awful angle, but it didn't matter. They needed to get out.

Lance sighed, triggering yet another coughing fit. There was more blood in his mouth, and he spat. "Good. Can you walk?" He could feel the rocks on his back slowly squeezing the life out of him, every breath a struggle that he was losing. He needed to get Keith out of there as soon as possible. He strained to see in the darkness, unsure if it was his vision or the real darkness, and spotted Keith's hand. It looked to be whole, and in good shape, and Lance reached for it. But his fingers fell short. Oh well.

Keith shifted again. "I think I can move." He ground out. He felt rocks digging into his back, but they were looser here, and he was able to crawl closer to Lance. "Hold on, okay? I'm gonna try and get to you." He pushed himself up, groaning as he tried to push the rocks off of his back. A few finally rolled off, and he was able to get up onto his elbows and crawl closer.

Lance exhaled slightly, needing to conserve what energy he had left. He watched Keith approach, smiling weakly. His nose was bleeding, and a trickle of blood streamed out of his mouth. "Wow, you really don't quit, do you samurai?" He rasped, coughing again. He reached for Keith's hand, his fingers too weak to properly grip it. "You gotta get out of here soon, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, once I can get you out." He said with determination. He looked down at Lance's hand and squeezed it, panic rising in his chest when he felt how weak Lance's grip was. He bit his lip and pushed himself up. He could see the large rocks digging in Lance's back and started trying to move them off of him.

"Keith..." Lance breathed, before giving a weak whimper at the feeling of the rocks being moved. He was fading fast, and he didn't want Keith to kill him faster. He reached up, hand brushing Keith's wrist before going limp again. "Keith, I'm dying. Just- Christ, would you stop before you kill me?"

"You're not!" Keith bit out harshly. He'd been fighting back that thought this whole time, but when he looked down at Lance, /really/ looked at him, it was harder to fight. His shoulders slumped as he pushed another rock off, and his hands dropped down next to Lance. "You're not-" He said, his voice weaker, wavering a little.

Lance draped one hand over Keith's, that being the most he could to. He gave Keith another weak smile. "Hey, it's not so bad. I've got you with me, don't I? Of course, this isn't really the spectacular ending I wanted, but..." He coughed again, although it was more like a weak wheeze. "It'll be okay." He could breath just a little easier with the few rocks that Keith had gotten off, but he could feel that effect wearing off.

Keith clutched his hand and held it to his chest. "Shut up." He said, his voice thick. "They're gonna find us. Come on, I know you don't wanna die with me here. So just. Hang on so we can get out of here- a- and you can go back to being a jerk to me-" He choked out, curling closer to Lance.

Lance sighed and his smile faded. He tried moving to arm to touch Keith's face, but it was all he could do to keep breathing. "C'mon.. I don't mind having you here with me. Truth is... I'm pretty much your stereotypical immature boy. I lash out at people I like. Romantically, that is." Was this a horrible idea and totally cliche? Yeah. But he couldn't just leave it unsaid.

Keith leaned closer his eyes widening a little. "What the hell, Lance?" He choked out. He laughed, a little hysterical as he blinked away tears. "God, this is the worst timing, you know that right?" He asked, as he leaned their heads together.

"Stop it." Keith sobbed out, shaking his head. "Stop it stop it stop it." He muttered weakly, over and over, until finally growing too weak and just laying his head down beside Lance's, his hand moving to lay on his chest. ".....okay. I promise. I'll meet your family, Lance, but you have to be with me."

Lance smiled again. "I will be. Of course I will be. In here." He tapped Keith's chest once. Then he felt his breath growing shallower and shallower. "Give 'em hell from the sharpshooter, okay samurai?" Without waiting for an answer, his eyes slid shut, and his body relaxed. A smile stayed on his face. "I love you." His last breath puffed over his lips with those words.

Keith looked down at Lance's hand, and then back up at his face, his eyes widening. "Lance no- Lance!" He grabbed his hand. "That isn't what I meant!" He shouted angrily, tears streaming down his face. "With me Lance! You're supposed to stay with me!" He sobbed, curling into himself. "S-stay with me- I love you.... stay with me..."

Lance didn't reply, his last breath gone. With how clogged his lungs were, it was a miracle he survived that long at all. Suddenly, very faint, very distant voices were detectable. Footsteps soon followed, and the voices were quickly discernable as the voices of the other Paladins.

Keith let out a wet shaky breath and blinked away tears. He could hear voices, and he struggled to move. "WE'RE HERE!" He shouted, the scream tearing his throat as he desperately tried to get their attention. "We're here! Please! Lance!"

The voices came closer quickly, Keith and Lance's names being the first words that could be picked up. Soon enough, Pidge came into view, not registering the sight right away. But as she drew closer, her eyes widened with horror.

Keith bit his lip when he saw Pidge. "H-he's. Pidge please. Please get him out of here." He said weakly. The injury to his head was worse than he thought, and it was throbbing, his adrenaline ebbing now and leaving him feeling weaker by the second. "We can still- there's still time- please..."

Pidge looked at him, then fell to her knees beside the pair, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. We'll get you both out of here, easy peasy." She placed a hand on his shoulder, then got to work pulling the rest of the rocks from Lance.

Eventually, Hunk and Shiro found their way to the group and joined in, Pidge trying her best to hide Lance's obvious lack of life from Hunk.

"Please save him..." He murmured. The energy was quickly leaving him as he started to lose consciousness, and he slumped against the ground. He laid on the cool floor, but kept holding Lance's hand, even as his eyes started to blink shut. "He has to stay..."

Pidge touched his shoulder again. "We will. He'll be okay." She knew it wouldn't help to lie. But right now they needed to not be panicking. She and Shiro met each other's eyes.

Then the leader spoke up. "Hunk, why don't you finish up with Keith and get him out of here with Pidge? I'll finish up with Lance."

Keith whimpered as they started to move him. He wanted to keep holding on to Lance's hand, but it slipped out of his grasp as he started to slip under. "He has to stay..." He murmured. "I love him. He has to..."

Pidge nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. "It'll be okay, I promise." She said as they began to leave. "Get some rest, okay?"

Shiro watched them leave with a sigh. He looked down at Lance. Silently, he finished pushing the rocks off, and bundled the still warm corpse in his arms. Then he began to follow.

The burden in his arms felt much heavier than just the younger Paladin's weight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so that wraps up the Roleplay Inspired ones (unless I get one for Hunk or Shiro that I like in which case we'll see.
> 
> The rest of these will come much slower, because I'll be writing them myself. But they should flow a little better.
> 
> Then maybe I'll make separate books for these about the aftermaths and the effects Lance's dying words had on everyone. Who knows?


End file.
